The Chinese Maze Murders

Eighteenth Chapter

Once they were back in the tribunal Judge Dee immediately had Headman Fang called in. He ordered him to proceed with ten constables and two stretchers to the country mansion to fetch the remains of the old gatekeeper and his wife.

Then the judge had his luncheon served in his private office.

While he was eating he called for the Head of the Archives. This was a man over sixty who had been recommended to the judge by the master of the Guild of Silk Merchants. He was a retired silk dealer who had lived all his life in Lan-fang.

As Judge Dee was emptying his bowl of soup, he asked:

"Have you ever heard of an old scholar in this district who uses the pen name of' Hermit clad in Crane-feathers'?"

The archivist asked:

"I suppose that Your Honour means Master Crane Robe?"

"That might well be the same man", Judge Dee said. "He must live somewhere outside the city."

"Yes", the other replied, "that is Master Crane Robe, as he is generally called. He is a hermit who has been living in the mountains outside the south gate as long as I can remember. No one knows how old he is."

"I would like to meet him", the judge said.

The old archivist looked doubtful.

"That is a difficult proposition, Your Honour!" he remarked. "The old master never leaves his mountain valley and he refuses to see visitors. I would not know that he is still alive were it not that last week I heard that two fuel gatherers had happened to see him working in his garden. He is a very wise and learned man, Your Honour. Some even say that he has discovered the Elixir of Life, and soon will leave this world as an Immortal."

Judge Dee slowly smoothed his long beard.

"I have heard many a story", he said, "about such recluses. Usually they turn out to be nothing but extremely lazy and ignorant men. However, I have seen a specimen of this man's calligraphy, which is absolutely superior. He may be an exception. How is the road out there?"

"Your Honour will have to walk the greater part of the way", the archivist replied. "The mountain path is so steep and narrow that even a small sedan chair could not pass."

As the judge thanked the archivist Chiao Tai came in. He was looking worried.

"I trust that there is nothing wrong in the Chien mansion, Chiao Tai?", asked the judge anxiously.

Chiao Tai sat down and started twirling his short moustache. Then he said:

"It is very hard, Your Honour, to explain how one notices a change in the attitude of a body of soldiers. I suppose that it is mainly intuition. For the last two days I have felt there was something wrong with the men.

I checked with Corporal Ling and found that he too has been worrying. He tells me that some soldiers seem to spend more money than they would be able to account for."

Judge Dee had been listening intently.

"This sounds serious, Chiao Tai!", he said slowly. "Listen to a queer story of Ma Joong!"

Ma Joong once more told what he had heard in the Northern Row.

Chiao Tai shook his head.

"I fear that this means trouble, Your Honour! Our ruse of creating an imaginary regiment inspecting the border works two ways. On the one hand it enabled us to oust Chien Mow and subdue his men. On the other it may have convinced barbarian tribes planning to raid the city that they have to act now or never, before a garrison arrives."

Judge Dee tugged at his whiskers.

"A barbarian attack on his town would be the last straw!", he exclaimed angrily. "As if we had not enough difficulties on our hands already! I suspect that that mysterious trouble-maker who directed Chien Mow is at the back of this! How many men do you think we can trust?"

Chiao Tai looked thoughtful. After a while he said:

"I would not count on more than fifty in all, Your Honour!"

All were silent.

Suddenly Judge Dee crashed his fist on the desk.

"It yet may not be too late!", he exclaimed. "That remark of yours about a ruse working two ways, Chiao Tai, has given me an idea.

Ma Joong, we must immediately apprehend that Uigur ruffian you were to meet last night. Can you arrest that man without attracting the attention of the people out there?"

Ma Joong looked pleased. He put his large hands on his knees and said with a smile:

"Broad daylight is not the most suitable time for such an undertaking, Your Honour, but of course it can be done!"

"Go there immediately with Chiao Tai!", the judge ordered. "But remember that this is to be a secret arrest. If you find that you cannot apprehend him without someone knowing it, you must leave him alone and come back here!"

Ma Joong nodded. He rose and beckoned Chiao Tai to follow him.

They went to the quarters of the guards and sat down in a corner. There they held a whispered consultation. Then Ma Joong left the tribunal alone.

He walked round the tribunal compound and sauntered along the main street leading to the north city gate. He stood about for a moment in front of a small eating house. Then he entered.

Ma Joong had been there once before. The manager greeted him by his name.

"I want my luncheon in a small room upstairs!", Ma Joong announced and climbed the stairs.

On the second floor he found an empty corner room. When he had ordered his luncheon, the door opened and Chiao Tai came in. He had entered the restaurant by the backdoor.

Ma Joong hurriedly took off his upper gown and his cap. While Chiao Tai wrapped these up in a bundle Ma Joong ruffled his hair and bound a dirty rag round his head. He tucked the slips of his undergarment in his girdle and rolled up his sleeves. With a hasty farewell he left the room.

Tiptoeing down the stairs he went into the kitchen.

"Have you not a spare oil cake lying about, you fat bastard?", he barked at the cook who was sweating over the kitchen fire.

The cook looked up. When he saw that uncouth ruffian he hastily gave him a flour cake that had stuck to the pan.

Ma Joong muttered something, grabbed the cake and left the kitchen by the backdoor.

Upstairs Chiao Tai had started on his luncheon. Seeing the familiar brown robe and the pointed black cap of the tribunal the waiter who served him did not realize that this was not the same man who had entered the restaurant.

Chiao Tai planned to leave when the manager would be busy.

In the meantime Ma Joong had strolled to the market near the Drum Tower.

He loitered for a while among the stalls of the street venders, then walked over to the tower.

The dark area under the stone arches that formed the base of the Drum Tower was deserted. On rainy days itinerant merchants often used the sheltered space under the arches for displaying their wares but now they preferred the bright sunlight outside.

Ma Joong looked over his shoulder. When he saw that no one paid any attention to him he quickly stepped inside. He climbed the narrow stairway that led to the second floor.

This was a kind of loft with large windows on all four sides. In hot weather people sometimes came up there to catch the breeze but now there was no one about. The step ladder to the third floor was barred by a wooden gate. There was no lock on it. It was closed by an iron bolt with a strip bearing the large red seal of the tribunal pasted over it.

Ma Joong calmly broke the seal and wrenched the gate open. Then he climbed up to the third floor.

The huge round drum stood on a platform in the middle of the wooden floor. It was covered with a thick layer of dust that had blown in through the open arches. The drum is sounded only in times of emergency to warn the population. Evidently it had not been used for many years.

Ma Joong nodded. He quickly went down again. He looked round the corner of one of the arches. When he saw that no one observed him he slipped out and made for the Northern Row.

In broad daylight the quarter looked even more miserable than at night. There was no one about. Apparently the inmates were sleeping off the night before.

Ma Joong wandered about for a while but he failed to locate the house he had visited.

He pushed open a door at random. A slovenly clad girl was lying on a wooden couch.

Ma Joong gave the couch a kick. The girl slowly scrambled up. She gave Ma Joong a sullen look and started to scratch her head.

Ma Joong said gruffly:

"Orolakchee!"

Suddenly the girl became active. She jumped from the couch and disappeared through the screen at the back. She emerged again dragging along a dirty small boy. Pointing to Ma Joong she rapidly talked to the urchin. Then she said something to Ma Joong. He nodded eagerly although he had not understood a word.

The urchin beckoned to Ma Joong. He rushed out into the street, Ma Joong following on his heels.

The boy slipped into the narrow space between two houses. Ma Joong had difficulty squeezing his large frame through. When he passed underneath a small window-opening of about two feet square he reflected that if somebody inside would choose this moment to crush his skull there was very little he could do about it.

A nail ripped his robe. Ma Joong stood still and ruefully looked at the large tear. Then he shrugged his shoulders; after all this was an additional touch to his disguise.

Suddenly he heard a soft voice calling from above:

"Yoong Bao, Yoong Bao!"

He looked up. The girl Tulbee was looking out of the small window just above his head.

"How are you, my wench?", Ma Joong said pleasantly.

Tulbee seemed very excited. She started to whisper some words looking fixedly at Ma Joong with her large eyes.

Ma Joong shook his head.

"I don't know what is your trouble, my girl, but I am in a hurry just now. I'll come back later!"

As he made to go on Tulbee stuck her bare arm through the window and clutched the collar of Ma Joong's robe. She pointed in the direction the urchin had gone to, shaking her head emphatically. Then she drew her forefinger across her throat.

"Yes, that they are cutthroats I know!", Ma Joong said with a smile. "But don't you worry, I can take care of myself!"

Tulbee quickly drew him near to the window. For a moment her cheek touched his. There was a slight smell of lambsfat about her but Ma Joong still thought it was rather pleasant.

Then he softly loosened her arm and went on. When he emerged from the passage the urchin came to meet him. He jabbered excitedly, apparently he had feared that he had lost Ma Joong.

They scrambled over a heap of refuse, then climbed over a broken down wall.

The boy pointed to a neat plaster hut standing all by itself among tumble-down shacks. Then the urchin ran away.

Ma Joong now recognized the small house he had visited the night before with The Hunter. He knocked on the door.

"Come in!", a voice shouted from inside.

Ma Joong opened the door. He stood stock still.

A tall, spare man was standing with his back against the wall opposite. Ma Joong kept his eyes riveted on the long, evil-looking knife that rested on the palm of the man's right hand. It was poised for the throw.

After a tense moment the man said:

"So it is you, Yoong Bao! Sit down!"

He put the knife back in a leather sheath and sat down on one of the low footstools. Ma Joong followed his example.

"Last night", Ma Joong began, "The Hunter directed me to come here, and…"

"Shut up!", the other interrupted, "if I had not known all about you, you would be dead now. I never miss when I throw my knife!"

Ma Joong thought to himself that that was probably very true. The Uigur spoke excellent Chinese, Ma Joong took him for a minor chieftain.

Ma Joong smiled ingratiatingly.

"I was told that you, Sir, could help me to a job with a little money in it!"

"You are a traitor", the other said disdainfully, "and traitors think only of money. Yet you may be useful. But before I give you my instructions I want to make one point very clear. It will be good for your health to avoid even a semblance of double-dealing. At the slightest sign you will find a knife in your back!"

"Certainly, Sir!", Ma Joong said hurriedly. "You know my situation. I…".

"Enough!", the other said imperiously, "Listen carefully, I never repeat my instructions.

Three tribes are assembling in the plains over the river. Tomorrow, at midnight, they will occupy this city. We could have taken this town any time we liked, but we want to avoid excessive bloodshed. Your Chinese authorities are self-satisfied and lazy, and this is a distant outpost. If the fall of this town does not create too much interest in the capital, the authorities will not be in too much of a hurry to send an army here. Fortunately for us the route to the west no longer passes through this town. So the central authorities need not worry that we shall interfere with the tribute caravans from the western tributary kingdoms. By the time they decide to take action we shall have established our kingdom here and be in a position to ward off any attack.

The point is that we want to take this town by surprise. Everything has been prepared for taking over the tribunal and killing the magistrate and his men. But we need a few more Chinese to dispose of the guards on the gates."

"Ha!", Ma Joong exclaimed, "that is very fortunate! It so happens that I have a friend here who is the very man for you. He was a sergeant in our regular army who had to desert and hide himself because he got into trouble with the new magistrate here. That fellow Dee is a nasty man!"

"You Chinese are always afraid of those magistrates!", the Uigur said with a sneer. "I am not afraid of any of them! A couple of years ago I slit the throat of one with my own hands!"

Ma Joong gave his host an admiring look.

"Well", he said, "you had better contact my friend. He is a firstclass swordsman and knows all about the passwords and military routine."

"Where is he?", the other asked eagerly.

"Not far from here, Sir!", Ma Joong replied. "We found a perfect hiding place for him. He only goes out at night, during the daytime he sleeps on the third floor of the Drum Tower."

The Uigur laughed.

"That is not a bad idea!", he said. "Nobody would look for him there! Go and bring him here!"

Ma Joong looked doubtful. He said with a frown:

"As I just remarked, Sir, he cannot risk going out by daylight. Could not we go there ourselves? It is quite near! "

The Uigur shot Ma Joong a suspicious look. He thought for a while. Then he rose, transferring his knife from his girdle to his sleeve.

"I hope for you, my friend", he said, "that you are not planning some trick. You walk ahead. At the first suspicious move I shall throw my knife in your back and nobody will even guess where it came from!"

Ma Joong shrugged his shoulders.

"There is no need for all those warnings", he remarked. "Don't you know that we are entirely in your hands? One word to the tribunal and my friend and I are lost!"

"So long as you don't forget that, my friend!", the other said.

They went out into the street, the Uigur following Ma Joong at some distance.

As Ma Joong entered the market place he saw Chiao Tai standing with his back to a stone memorial tablet. His arms folded in his sleeves, he leisurely surveyed the crowd. His pointed cap, his brown robe with the black sash together with his air of authority clearly marked him as an officer of the tribunal.

Ma Joong halted in his steps.

This was where Ma Joong had to take his chance. Every moment the expected to feel the knife of the Uigur landing in his back.

Yet he could not move too quickly for he had to make sure that Chiao Tai saw him. With cold sweat on his brow Ma Joong carefully played his role.

He made as if he hesitated for a moment. When Chiao Tai lifted his hand and slowly smoothed his moustache, Ma Joong turned round and made a detour behind the stone tablet.

As soon as he was safely under the dark arch of the Drum Tower the Uigur joined him.

"Did you see that bastard leaning against the stone tablet?", Ma Joong whispered excitedly. "That is an officer of the tribunal!"

"So I saw", the other said dryly. "Hurry up!"

Ma Joong climbed the stairway to the second floor. He waited till the Uigur had come up too. Pointing to the broken seal on the gate Ma Joong said:

"Look! That is where my friend went up!"

The Uigur pulled his knife from the sheath. He ran his thumb along its hair-sharp blade.

"Climb up!", he ordered.

Ma Joong shrugged his shoulders resignedly. Slowly he ascended the narrow ladder, the Uigur following behind.

As Ma Joong had his shoulders through the floor opening he exclaimed:

"Well, well! The lazy dog is sleeping!"

So speaking he quickly went up the last steps. Pointing at the drum he said:

"Look at the fellow!"

The Uigur came up quickly.

When his head was on a level with the floor Ma Joong suddenly gave him a fearful kick right in the face.

With a gasp the Uigur fell down the steep ladder.

Ma Joong let himself slide down as fast as he could. At the bottom of the step ladder he could just dodge a vicious knife thrust. The Uigur was lying on the floor leaning on his left arm. Apparently he had broken a leg, and blood gushed from a nasty gash on his shaven head. But his eyes shone with a green light and he held his knife in a firm grip.

Ma Joong decided there was no time, for the finer points. He quickly stepped behind the other. Before the Uigur could scramble round, Ma Joong had placed a kick. The Uigur's head crashed against the side of the ladder. The knife clattered to the floor. He lay quite still.

Ma Joong picked the knife up and put it in his girdle. Then he bound the Uigur's hands behind his back. He felt the other's leg; it seemed broken in more than one place.

Ma Joong went down. He left the tower and strolled nonchalantly out into the market place, heading for the stone tablet.

As he was about to pass in front of the tablet Chiao Tai stepped forward.

"Halt!", he shouted and gripped Ma Joong's arm.

Ma Joong shook his arm free and gave Chiao Tai a sullen look.

"Keep your dirty hands off me, you dogshead!", he barked.

"I am an officer of the tribunal", Chiao Tai said curtly. "I am sure that His Excellency the Judge would like to ask you a few questions, my man!"

"Me?", Ma Joong exclaimed indignantly, "I am an honest citizen, Constable!"

A crowd of idlers had gathered round them, eagerly following this incident.

"Will you come along, or must I knock you down first?", Chiao Tai asked threateningly.

"Shall we let ourselves be bullied by these running-dogs of the tribunal?", Ma Joong asked the crowd.

He noticed to his secret satisfaction that no one made a move.

Ma Joong shrugged his shoulders.

"All right", he said, "the tribunal has nothing on me!"

Chiao Tai bound his hands on his back.

Ma Joong turned round.

"Listen", he said, "I have a sick friend. Let me give that flour-cake peddler here a few coppers to take some food to him. The man cannot move!"

"Where is that fellow?", Chiao Tai asked.

Ma Joong hesitated a while. Then he said reluctantly:

"Well, to tell you the truth, last night he went up the Drum Tower over there to enjoy the fresh air. He fell down the steps and broke his leg. He is lying now on the second floor."

The crowd guffawed.

"I think", Chiao Tai said, "that the tribunal would like to see that patient of yours!" Turning to the crowd he added: "Let someone run to the warden and call him here with four men, a stretcher and a few old blankets!"

Soon the warden came running along with four sturdy fellows carrying bamboo poles.

"Warden, look after this ruffian!", Chiao Tai ordered.

He beckoned two of the men and went to the Drum Tower.

Chiao Tai climbed the stairs with the blankets over his shoulder. The Uigur was still unconscious. Chiao Tai quickly pasted a piece of oil paper over his mouth. Then he rolled him in one of the blankets and wrapped the other round the Uigur's head and shoulders. He called down the stairs. The warden's men came up to carry the limp form down.

The Uigur was laid on the improvised stretcher. The procession set out for the tribunal, Chiao Tai leading the way dragging Ma Joong along.

They entered by the side gate. As soon as they were inside Chiao Tai said to the warden:

"Put the stretcher down here. You and your men can go!"

As Chiao Tai locked the gate behind them Ma Joong slipped his hands out of the loose ropes. Together with Chiao Tai he carried the stretcher to the jail. They laid the Uigur on the couch in a small cell.

While Ma Joong bandaged the wounded man's head, Chiao Tai cut open his baggy trousers and attached a rough splint to the broken leg.

Ma Joong hurried out to report to the judge.

Chiao Tai locked the door of the cell. He then stood with his back to the door. When the warden of the jail came along, Chiao Tai told him that he had caught a violent ruffian; he would inquire his name as soon as he had calmed down.

Judge Dee's private office was empty but for Tao Gan, who sat dozing in a corner.

Ma Joong shook him awake and asked excitedly:

"Where is His Excellency?"

Tao Gan looked up.

"The judge went out with Sergeant Hoong shortly after you and Chiao Tai had left", he replied testily. "What is all the excitement? Did you catch that Uigur fellow?"

"Better than that", Ma Joong said proudly, "we caught the murderer of Magistrate Pan!"

"That will cost you a round of wine tonight, brother!", Tao Gan said contentedly. "Well, His Excellency ordered me to go and invite Yoo Kee to visit the tribunal later this afternoon. I suppose that the judge wants to question him about the death of the old caretaker of the country mansion and his wife. I had better be off!"